Michael O’Neill wasn’t ready to play in the minor leagues when he was selected in the 42nd round by the New York Yankees in 2010.

O’Neill, the nephew of former Reds and Yankees outfielder Paul O’Neill, has spent the past three years playing at the University of Michigan.

Today, the outfielder is expected to be the first player with state ties to be selected in the Major League Baseball draft.

O’Neill, who turns 21 on Wednesday, is projected to go as high as the second round. Fellow U-M outfielder Patrick Biondi, a senior, also is expected to be drafted between Rounds 5-10.

O’Neill said there were two reasons he wasn’t ready to sign with the Yankees out of high school.

“For one, I needed labrum surgery,” he said. “And two, I weighed about 165 pounds. My body couldn’t really take the toll of a 140-game schedule at that point. It was never really a decision. I got drafted, it’s an honor, but I’ll see you in three years.”

O’Neill said he suffered the labrum injury in his left, nonthrowing shoulder playing baseball during his senior year at Olentangy Liberty High in Powell, Ohio.

“I tell people all the time if I would have signed I think my career would have probably been over,” he said. “I wasn’t ready as far as the maturity level and the physicality.”

O’Neill, now 6-feet-1, 195 pounds, said playing at U-M has prepared him to pursue his dream of playing in the big leagues.

All-Big Ten first team this season, he led the Wolverines in average (.356), slugging percentage (.498), on-base percentage (.396), runs (46), hits (85), doubles (17), home runs (five) and stolen bases (23).

O’Neill hit four of his five home runs in the team’s last six games.

“Overall, statistically, I thought it was a very productive year,” he said. “The wind conditions and just the overall weather conditions in the Midwest this spring weren’t really the best conditions to hit in.”

O’Neill said he got into a bit of a slump midway through the season and worked out of it after a talk with first-year head coach Erik Bakich.

“The only thing that changed when I was going really well to when I was slumping was the pitches I was swinging at … it was definitely pitch selection,” O’Neill said. “He’s taught me so much, just in one year, honestly. He’s just developed a solid fundamental approach at the plate that he’s passed on to me.

“My freshmen and sophomore years, basically just got by on my talent. I never really had an approach. It was just more, ‘See ball, hit ball.’ Now, with Coach Bakich, he’s instilled a very advanced approach at the plate, depending on certain situations, looking for certain pitches. It’s been a breath of fresh air to have him here.”

Bakich said O’Neill is an accomplished hitter.

“He’s got premium speed, he’s got a plus throwing arm, and he’s shown flashes of power,” Bakich said. “People in the baseball community know his power tool is only going to get better as he continues to get older.

“I personally believe he’s ready for professional baseball, he’s ready mentally and physically. I think his best years are still ahead of him from a development standpoint.”

O’Neill plans to watch the draft in Cincinnati with family, including his uncle Paul.

“We’ve always been very close,” O’Neill said of the relationship with his uncle. “He’s been texting me a lot lately, asking what I’ve heard about the draft.”

He went to any of his uncle’s games within a 6-hour radius of Columbus in 2001.

“People still try to make the comparison, but I always say it’s like comparing an apple to an orange,” O’Neill said. “He batted and threw left-handed. I’m right-handed for both. He’s 6-5. I’m 6-1. I’m probably faster than he is. He hit for more power. There’s no comparison for the two of us except for the fact that we’re both very competitive.”

Contact George Sipple: 313-223-4796 or gsipple@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgesipple.